In Macau, a jobs fair held by MGM China Holdings Limited on Monday saw the casino operator hire more than 200 people to work on a non-contract basis across seven departments at its soon-to-open MGM Casino Cotai.

A subsidiary of Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International and the operator of the MGM Grand Casino, MGM China Holdings Limited declared that it expects to open its $3.1 billion MGM Casino Cotai during the second quarter of 2017 offering approximately 1,500 hotel rooms and suites alongside a meeting space, a luxury spa, shops and restaurants and a theater with up to 14 seating arrangements.

According to a report from the Macau Daily Times newspaper, over 800 local candidates attended this week’s jobs fair, which took place at the MGM Grand Macau, while the operator has plans to hire of up to 6,000 people in total to fill some 1,200 new gaming and non-gaming positions at the coming Cotai Strip property including security and hotel operations posts.

“MGM [China Holdings Limited] is committed to giving back to the community through different initiatives, one of which is by providing opportunities for local talent to develop professional skills and fuel their career path at a resort of international level,” read a statement from Wendy Yu, Human Resources Senior Vice-President for MGM China Holdings Limited. “We will continue to provide extensive training and support to both our existing and new team members as we anticipate the expansion of MGM China Holdings Limited’s footprint in Macau. We believe that great people create great moments and we are confident that the Golden Lion Team will significantly contribute to Macau’s position as a world leisure and tourism center.”

MGM China Holdings Limited explained that it has plans to organize further jobs fairs in the future in cooperation with several local associations including the Macao Federation Of Trade Unions, the General Union Of Neighbourhood Associations Of Macau, the Macau Gaming Industry Labourers Association and the Women’s General Association Of Macau.

“We are happy to see that enterprises are putting [their] emphasis on recruiting locals,” Elaine Wong, Vice-President for the Macao Federation Of Trade Unions, told GGRAsia. “We hope to see more local enterprises not only the integrated resort operators create job opportunities [and] upward and linear career mobility for local residents.”